so it begins...

its been 4 days since the cavs took the eastern conference crown from the pistons and im still reeling from it.
just when i thought i was done with it, im listening to a bill simmons podcast (which arent bad so much as they are kind of weird, because his voice isnt quite made for radio and the casts themselves are mostly just long conversations about everything and anything. check it out if youre a simmons fan...of whom roger brown isnt. speaking of roger brown, its kind of sad yet hilarious that hes been reduced to a paper like the news herald...but i digress....) where he's asking marv albert what it was like to call lebron's "48 special" (game 5), and checking yay sports for the cavalier's insights on how/why the cavs have succesfully dethroned the pistons as the "beast in the east".
its day 4 and im still thinking about that lebron/z hug (full hetero on that one) and wondering just how happy austin carr is right now.

but its midnight, the night before game 1 of the finals between the cavs and spurs, and that eastern conference stuff must all go to the way side.

at 11:00pm nike officiall launched phase 2 of the lebron witness campaign, dropping the commercial on sportscenter and throwing up a new site where you can download all past lebron wallpapers (the one with the throne and lions is still key) and you can upload how lebron has effected your life...or something.
the commercial, though poetic, doesnt move me like last year's did, what with the shots of cleveland and school kids set to that drum beat. but fuck it if i didnt watch it 5 times at 11:00.

11:30 i drank a beer and smoked on my fire escape, looked out at the night time brooklyn landscape, and i actually felt nervous.

do i still stand by my statement of "even if (the cavs) get swept ill be happy"? sure, but dammit we've got a chance. even dick vitale thinks so (peep the mike and mike podcast at espn.com for 6/4).

my assesment?

San Antonio
as my cousin khoi puts it: " finley looks like billy ocean, horry looks like fresh prince, ginobli looks like cousin balky, and bowen cheats..."
its the goddamn spurs man. perennial western powerhouses, rings, duncan, foreign dudes, good bench, good coach, theyve got it all. except...

Cleveland
that guy from akron. we've seen how the cavs have reacted these playoffs, with their strong defense, boards, and offensive strategies of "give lebron the ball and see what happens" or "give lebron the ball but put every dude who can shoot 3's out there with him and see what happens". will z step up to timmy? where will larry fit in what with his bum ankle and "boobie" becoming the prince to lebron's king? do i even know what im talking about anymore?

well, i probably dont, so as of tonight i tapped my buddy steve to do game analysis for the finals. the dude's a teacher so you know hes smart, knows his sports, and when we trade emails about the cavs his read like a newspaper column while mine read like an a homeless man's diary entry.

i bought the new bone album today for luck. all i need is another pack of lightning lemonade and my trusty cavs shirt.

rise up cleveland.

F san antonio.